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Overview
Pitaya’s world was designed to feel alive! Not just once, but every time you return to grind up more resources.
As the Area Designer, I crafted a four-zone world where exploration, combat, and progression intertwined. Each area could be revisited with new abilities, revealing secrets and new routes. This modular design made backtracking engaging and supported the game’s RPG progression loop: defeat creatures, gather ingredients, cook upgrades, explore further.
Problem
Players needed an explorable world that encouraged return visits, NOT a one-and-done map.
Because progression in Pitaya came from cooking new abilities, the world had to support multiple traversal states. Zones couldn’t be linear; they had to transform based on player growth and choices.
EARLY ITERATIONS FELL INTO THE SAME TRAP
Short, segmented maps (~60s per map) even with an amazing loop would stop being fun and players would move onto the next without a second thought.
Players needed to be able to keep coming back AND keep having fun, so I asked myself:
How can each area feel rewarding to revisit after gaining new abilities?
How can progression stay readable and self-explanatory without quest markers?
How do we pace enemy difficulty and resources to keep grinding fun instead of repetitive?
Solution
I approached world design as a loop of rediscovery.
Each of the four major zones taught a mechanic, hid long-term secrets, and offered new opportunities when revisited with different abilities.
Environmental Teaching: Every quest used terrain and props to naturally explain new mechanics.
Modular Progression: Zones were designed to be explored in any order, making unlocks feel personal.
Dynamic Encounters: Enemy placement, resources, and shortcuts were laid out to smooth re-entry paths and add new “aha” moments with each revisit.
Top-Downs: Establishing Intent
Sketched layouts to define player routes, sightlines, and pacing loops.
Identified early choke points and resource nodes to guide player flow organically.
Documented design goals and ability-gate logic for each zone to align with narrative and system design.
Collaborated with engineers and artists early to ensure terrain, traversal, and quest scripting were feasible.
Outcome: A clear visual plan that mapped how progression, resource gathering, and enemy placement would reinforce learning through exploration.
Editor Layout: Iterating in Unreal
Translated top-downs into greybox block-outs using Unreal’s level tools.
Tested movement readability, enemy AI navigation, and camera visibility.
Iterated on spacing and timing so each encounter felt just right.
Each zone needed secrets
Each area included hidden routes only accessible with other zones’ abilities, rewarding creative exploration with rare ingredients and fast-travel shortcuts.
Outcome: A playable layout where traversal, combat, and environmental feedback felt cohesive and rewarding, even before art polish.
Design Details
The Crossroads
Tutorial Area
Introduced the game loop:
fight → gather → cook → explore
Clear sightlines guided players toward ingredient pickups and their first quest.
Islands
Exploration & Discovery
Introduced the “Pet Throw” ability to knock down trees for bridges.
Quest: Collect three rare plant specimens hidden across small islands.
Rocklands
Combat & Mastery
Introduced “Rock Smash” to break barriers and open shortcuts.
Designed arena layouts for mid-tier combat and a boss fight encounter.
Highlands
Linear Suprises
Introduced “Ground Slam” to open geysers and lift the player upward.
Quest: Ascend to the summit while discovering hidden ambush nests and emergent enemy encounters.
What I learned
Replayability & Hidden Goodies
Designing Pitaya’s areas showed me how much thought goes into making spaces feel alive over multiple visits. I loved experimenting with hidden interactions, shortcuts, and secrets to reward curiosity.
Zones as Interaction Tools
Each zone taught me how the world itself can guide players and shape gameplay. I enjoyed designing combat, traversal, and quests into the environment so players could explore and engage in their own way.
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